BBC Share Add as a preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 5 Feb 2026, 08:02 By Carena Crawford 5 Feb 2026, 08:02 The Queen Vic: A history of the iconic Walford pub including the landlords and landladies, all the huge dramas and tragic deaths How much do you know about The Queen Vic? The Queen Victoria Share Add as a preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 5 Feb 2026, 08:02 By Carena Crawford 5 Feb 2026, 08:02 The Queen Vic is the legendary pub in the centre of Albert Square in EastEnders. Its full name is the Queen Victoria Public House, but the Walford locals, and EastEnders fans, simply call it The Queen Vic, or just The Vic. First seen on screen during the soap’s first episode on February 19, 1985, it’s the lifeblood of E20. It’s staged some of the soap’s biggest and most memorable showdowns – from baby births, to shock divorces, and dramatic deaths. Most recently, legacy character Martin Fowler met his maker when the Vic collapsed during the show’s 40th anniversary episodes. The Queen Vic has been home to a number of iconic characters. It’s also changed hands countless times over the years. Having your name above the door of The Vic is like a badge of honour, so there have been a lot of dirty battles to gain control of it. But more on that later…. Here’s all you need to know about The Queen Vic! The Queen Victoria pub is one of the most famous locations (Credit: BBC) The history of The Queen Vic in EastEnders The iconic Walford boozer dates way back to the 1860s. As was typical of the mid 19th century, the building had two bars – a public one and a saloon. The Vic was originally called The Balmoral Arms and its first publicans were a Mr and Mrs Bagstock. The story goes that Mr Bagstock allegedly drowned his wife in the bath. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers In 1997, Nigel Bates’ stepdaughter Clare did a school project on the pub. She discovered the Queen Victoria (who was on the throne between 1837 and 1901) once paid a visit to The Balmoral Arms. It was after this that its name was changed to The Queen Victoria Public House. In 1975 – 10 years before audiences were invited into the world of Walford – Den and Angie Watts took control. They rented The Vic from the brewery Luxford & Copley. When EastEnders first hit our screens in 1985, the Vic was still in separated into two sections with a partition wall. In the public bar there was a dart board and fruit machines, whereas the saloon had lots of tables and chairs where punters would stay longer. In October of that year, Den decided it was time to modernise the Queen Vic. He got permission from the brewery to dismantle the partitions between the public and saloon bars, making the pub one. Den’s vision was to create a more modern pub and attract a younger, cooler clientele. The first local to enjoy a tipple in the new look Vic was Simon Wicks – bang on trend! Who owns The Queen Vic in EastEnders? The Queen Vic is currently owned by Alfie and Kat Moon, thanks to a generous loan from Stacey. The pai are the latest publicans in a long line of locals to be in charge. Let’s take a look back at who’s helmed the pub over the past 40 years… 1975 – 1988: The Den and Angie Watts years Den and Angie Watts were the OG landlord and lady of the Vic. They rented the pub from brewery Luxford & Copley, and lived there with their adopted daughter Sharon and pet poodle, Roly. Together, the Watts made a formidable team. Angie was flirtatious and fun-loving, whereas Den knew how to deal with the lairy locals. Who remembers the time he jumped over the bar to break up a brawl? The couple’s relationship was notoriously stormy. Angie was a volatile alcoholic, and living in a pub certainly didn’t help matters. Dirty Den was just as bad, he cheated on his wife with 16-year-old schoolgirl Michelle Fowler and got her pregnant. Things reached a dramatic climax on Christmas Day 1986 when Den served his wife with divorce papers. Post-split, Angie went on to run a rival pub The Dagmar, which was owned by James Willmott-Brown. She returned to The Vic in 1987, but left again after tricking Den into signing over the lease of The Vic to Frank Butcher and Pat Wicks. 1988 – 1990: The Frank and Pat Butcher years Former sweethearts Frank Butcher and Pat Wicks rekindled their love in 1988 and celebrated by taking over the tenancy of The Vic. The iconic couple made a brilliant partnership. Frank had an easy charm and Pat knew exactly how to persuade the punters to spend their pennies in the pub. In June 1989, the couple made their love official with a cockney themed knees-up outside the pub. It was also during Pat and Frank’s reign that Tracey ‘the barmaid’ began working behind the bar. Pat and Frank moved his children Ricky and Diane into the pub, but their dream wasn’t to last. When Frank’s youngest, the troublesome Janine, joined them, things began to fall apart. Crippled by mounting debts, Frank and Pat were forced to let go of The Vic. Den and Angie’s daughter Sharon took over the day-to-day running and was helped by local lothario Simon Wicks. 1990 – 1991: Eddie Royle Former copper Eddie Royle became the next owner. He had a no-nonsense approach to running the Vic, which made him unpopular with many of the locals. Eddie rented one of the upstairs rooms out to Sharon Watts, who still worked as a barmaid in her parents’ former boozer. It was during this time Sharon began dating Grant Mitchell and Eddie did not approve of their relationship. When Grant found out that Eddie had propositioned Sharon he beat him so badly he was hospitalised. He also made an enemy of Grant’s brother, Phil. On September 10, 1991, Eddie was stabbed to death in the middle of the Square while out walking Roly. His killer was later revealed to be local criminal Nick Cotton. 1991 – 2001: The Mitchell years (Part One) Following Eddie’s murder, Luxford & Copley decided to sell the pub off. It was purchased by Sharon Watts, her boyfriend Grant Mitchell and his brother Phil. Sharon’s name went above the door because the Mitchell brothers both had criminal records. In 1993, Phil sold his share to Sharon and Grant after they were married. Sharon was overjoyed to finally become landlady. Having learnt from the best, she was a complete natural. But while Sharon’s professional life was on the up, her personal one began to crumble. She had an affair with Phil, which destroyed her marriage to Grant. In 1995, broken-hearted Sharon signed the deeds over to Peggy Mitchell and her glorious reign began. Peggy was the embodiment of an Eastend landlady and a huge hit with the Walford community. Peggy and Grant continued to be co-owners until Grant gave his 50% to Phil. During a feud with Peggy, Phil sold his share to local gangster Dan Sullivan for a fiver – yes, you read that right. Dan became the new landlord and caused a lot of problems for Peggy and her then-husband Frank Butcher. Phil bought his share back after challenging Dan to a card game. Peggy then became sole owner. 2001 – 2002: The Sharon Watts years (Part One) “Hello Peggy, bet you didn’t expect to see me back here again,” were the iconic words Sharon uttered as she unveiled herself as the new landlady in 2001. Peggy’s face was a picture as she realised she’d sold her pub to the person who’d torn her family apart. Sharon hadn’t been able to afford the Vic on her own, so nightclub boss Steve Owen came in as her business partner. It was a calculated move on his part, knowing it would wound the Mitchells – particularly Phil, who was Steve’s enemy. It wasn’t long before Sharon and Phil reignited their romance, and Phil ended up scamming Steve out of his share. In 2002, Sharon learnt her mum Angie had died in Spain. This devastating loss prompted her to sell her 50% to Phil. She then used the money to buy the E20 nightclub, which she renamed Angie’s Den after her parents. 2002 – 2004: The Alfie Moon and Kat Slater years (Part One) Peggy reclaimed her throne and ran the pub with Phil for a while, until she departed for Spain to live with Grant. She left the Vic in the capable hands of affable bar manager Alfie Moon. Fans took the cheeky chap into their hearts, and together with brassy barmaid Kat Slater, they made the ultimate dream team. The chemistry between Kat and Alfie had everyone rooting for them to get together, but that wouldn’t happen a while. Life in camp Mitchell remained chaotic. Phil was accused of armed robbery in 2003, so he signed all his business interests over to his sister Sam – including the pub. He thought The Vic was in safe hands, but was wrong. In 2004, Sam was conned out The Queen Vic by ex-landlord Den Watts after his dramatic return from the dead. Poor Alfie and the rest of his Moon family found themselves out on the street just before Christmas. 2005: Den and Chrissie Watts On Christmas Eve 2004, Den returned to where he belonged. He installed his own family into the Walford watering hole, including his glamorous new wife, Chrissie. Just a day later, Sharon revealed her affair with Den’s son Dennis over Christmas dinner and all hell broke loose. The Vic has been the scene of many a festive fallout, and this was one of its finest. Den’s reign didn’t last long after that. In February 2005 he was murdered by Chrissie, who crushed his skull with Pauline Fowler’s dog doorstop. With assistance from Zoe Slater and Sam Mitchell, Chrissie buried Den’s corpse in the Vic cellar. She then forged his signature to transfer the deeds of the pub over to her. When Den’s body was eventually discovered, Chrissie panicked and sold the Vic to Ian Beale. She was captured by the police and admitted she’d faked Den’s signature, meaning Sharon inherited the pub from her late dad. She then decided to sell the boozer back to the Mitchells. 2005 – 2010: The Mitchell years (Part Two) Two years into Peggy’s second reign she was joined by her nieces Ronnie and Roxy. Fresh from Ibiza, this feisty sister act definitely shook things up. Their dad Archie wasn’t far behind and managed to woo his way into Peggy’s affections. However, Archie was an evil man who had a lot of dark secrets. In April 2009, Archie and Peggy married. Their reception at the Vic ended in tragedy when Ronnie discovered she had a daughter (Danielle Jones), who Archie had told her died at birth. That same night Danielle was run over and killed by Janine Butcher. Peggy never forgave Archie for his cruel deception and they split up. Christmas that year brought its usual dose of drama when Archie and his new fiancee Janine Butcher briefly snatched the pub from Peggy. Archie ended up throwing Janine out in the cold, and was later killed when Stacey Branning tipped the famous Queen Vic bust onto his head. Roxy discovered she was the new landlady after Archie left her The Vic in his will. She carried on for a few months before signing the business back to Peggy. In 2010, the Vic went up in flames after Phil set fire to it in a drug-fueled rage. Poor Peggy stood there crying out “Let it burn” as she watched her home being destroyed. The devastating loss prompted Peggy to walk out of Walford. She then signed the Vic back to Phil. 2010 – 2013: The Kat and Alfie years (Part Two) The Vic was rebuilt after the fire, but Phil decided to wash his hands of the place. He rented the pub out to former bar manager Alfie Moon and his wife Kat Moon. They became the new landlord and landlady as well as licensees. On December 30, 2010, Kat gave birth to son Tommy in the barrel store of the pub. Days later, Ronnie Mitchell snuck upstairs in the pub and swapped her dead baby boy James with Tommy. After a number of torturous months, Kat and Alfie realised their son was still alive. They were reunited with Tommy, but their happiness didn’t last when Kat had an affair with brutish Derek Branning. She quit the pub, leaving Alfie to manage things on his own. Alfie went on to wed Roxy Mitchell, who briefly became landlady again. Their marriage soon failed and Alfie went back to Kat. Phil then decided the time had come to sell The Vic to a new family. Shirley, Mick and Linda took over The Queen Vic (Credit: BBC) 2013 – 2020: The Mick and Linda Carter years (Part One) Christmas 2013 saw the arrival of the Carter family. Childhood sweethearts Mick and Linda took charge and moved their kids Johnny, Nancy – and later Lee – into the pub, along with pet bulldog, Lady Di. The Carters brought a family feel back to the pub, but were also a cursed clan. Over the next seven years a series of tragic events occurred at The Vic. Linda was raped in the upstairs kitchen by her nephew Dean Wicks, Mick’s mum Sylvia was electrocuted in the bath, and Abi Branning tumbled to her death off the roof. In 2017, Woody Woodward became the new bar manager. Linda and Mick’s mum Shirley (who had become a co-owner) sold the Queen Vic’s freehold to a business called Grafton Hill. Enter new bar manager, Fi Browning, who set about making a number of changes. Loyal barmaid Tracey got the sack, but was later re-employed by Mick. By 2020 Linda was in the grips of an alcohol addiction so Mick decided to sell up. Phil and then-wife Sharon were going to buy it, but then broke up. Phil still wanted to go ahead with the sale, but Sharon got in there before him. Ian and Sharon’s partnership was short-lived (Credit: BBC) 2020 – 2021: Sharon Watts and Ian Beale Sharon became landlady again after buying the pub with best mate Ian Beale. He relished the opportunity to lord it over longtime rival Phil, but what Ian didn’t realise were that his days behind the bar were numbered. Unbeknownst to him, Sharon knew Ian had played a part in the death of her son, Dennis Jr, and was plotting her revenge. Sharon instructed Phil to attack Ian, then began poisoning him. She spiked a spaghetti carbonara to try and finish the job, but Ian realised what was happening at the last minute. Guilt-ridden, Ian left Walford and signed his half over to Sharon, making her the full owner. But not for long. She soon sold The Vic back to Mick and Linda, after being blackmailed into doing so by Max Branning. Are you keeping up?! Things were difficult for Linda and Mick after her relapse (Credit: BBC) 2021 – 2023: The Mick and Linda Carter years (Part Two) Re-buying the Vic was meant to be a fresh start for Mick and Linda, but life had other plans. After forgiving Linda for getting pregnant with Max Branning’s baby (Annie), Mick found himself tempted by the charms of maneater Janine Butcher. The pair ended up becoming lovers after Linda fell off the wagon and demanded a divorce. Janine then moved into the pub along with her daughter Scarlett, and married Mick in December 2022. On Christmas Day, during a showdown in the living room of the pub Janine was exposed as a lying schemer. This led to Mick’s dramatic exit, where it was assumed he’d drowned at sea. Following Mick’s ‘death’, Linda was left in charge after a grief-stricken Shirley fled London. When Linda found out Janine was intending to sell Mick’s share of the Vic, she asked Sharon if she could buy into the business. She also made a loose agreement with Nish and Suki Panesar that they could purchase half of the pub. Linda eventually rejected both of these options and made a secret deal with her mum, Elaine Peacock. Current Vic owners, along with Linda, George and Elaine (Credit: BBC) 2023 – 2o25: Elaine Peacock and George Knight Following her arrival on the Square with her man, George Knight, Linda ran the pub with mum Elaine and the family 2023. Linda still owned a share, but took a step back as her alcohol addiction took prominence and she entered into a stint in rehab. The Knights moved out in 2025 following Linda’s return. With the pub full of painful memories, she decided to move on, letting another Walford legend take her place. Kat took over the reigns of The Vic in 2024 (Credit: BBC) The Kat and Alfie years (Part Three) Kat brought The Vic after a massive payout from Martin’s life insurance for Stacey. After a hefty discount from generous Linda, Kat used the money to secure the deposit – moving The Slater family in, along with hubby Alfie. Kat and Alfie have once again been back at the heart of the drama since returning. This includes the comeback of Kat’s daughter Zoe Slater, who lived in The Vic for a while, along with her kitty, Mini Mo. Kat and Alfie currently share the pub with sons Bert, Ernie and Tommy… and Big Mo too, when she’s around. Big moments in The Queen Vic in EastEnders The Vic has been the setting for all of these jaw-dropping moments in soap history… ‘Appy Christmas, Ange’ (Credit: BBC) Den and the divorce papers The back stairs of the Vic was the setting for arguably the most iconic moment in EastEnders’s history. It was Christmas Day 1986 and over 30 million viewers (which was half the UK population at the time) tuned in to watch the moment Den served Angie with divorce papers. It was a dramatic act of revenge, carried out after Den discovered Angie had lied to him about having a terminal illness. “Happy Christmas, Ange”, snarled Den, in what is still the highest viewed soap episode in British history. Epic! Grant Mitchell plays the infamous tape during Sharongate (Credit: BBC) Sharongate In 1994, Sharon’s secret affair with brother-in-law Phil was outed when Grant discovered her recorded confession. He took his revenge by playing the incriminating cassette to everyone in the Queen Vic, during Phil and Kathy’s engagement party. Grant then beat Phil to near-death, as an audience of 25 million watched in horror. Peggy slaps Frank after outing his affair with Pat (Credit: BBC) Peggy outs Frank and Pat’s affair Fireworks were going off inside The Vic on Bonfire Night 2000 as scorned Peggy publicly outed husband Frank’s affair with Pat. Taking centre stage behind her bar, she read out a letter from Frank confessing his betrayal. Peggy then ‘handed out the prizes’, and slapped Pat and Frank round the faces. The force even caused one of Pat’s legendary earrings to fly off. Archie Mitchell was blundgeoned over the head with the Queen Vic bust (Credit: BBC) Archie Mitchell whodunnit Monstrous Archie Mitchell met his maker in the 2009 festive edition when one of his enemies pushed the Queen Victoria’s bust onto his head. Archie had no shortage of enemies, so the suspect list was rather long. The thrilling whodunnit reached its climax during EastEnders first ever live episode in February 2010. Stacey Branning confessed to being Archie’s killer – but only after her husband Bradley had fallen to his death off the Queen Vic roof trying to escape the police. The Six storyline put the women of Walford back at the forefront (Credit: BBC) Keanu Taylor and The Six Christmas came early in 2023 when EastEnders aired a flashforward that saw Linda, Suki, Kathy, Stacey, Denise and Sharon (aka ‘The Six’) standing over a dead body on the floor of The Vic. Viewers had to wait a whole 10 months to discover the identity of the unfortunate fella. But in true EE style, there was a twist. The body was Nish Panesar, who wasn’t actually dead. It was Keanu Taylor who met his maker after Linda stabbed him with a meat thermometer. The 40th anniversary saw Martin Fowler killed in The Vic (Credit: BBC) Martin Fowler dies EastEnders celebrated its milestone 40th birthday with another astonishing live episode, which saw the Vic being destroyed in a dramatic explosion. The pub collapsed after Reiss Colwell crashed his car into the building, which triggered a huge gas explosion. Lives were on the line as the terrified locals, who were celebrating Billy and Honey Mitchell’s wedding reception, found themselves trapped inside. Sonia Fowler went into labour and was forced to give birth in the wreckage. But while she celebrated the safe arrival of baby daughter Julia, tragedy struck when Martin Fowler succumbed to his injuries after being crushed by a metal beam. Anthony died in The Vic on Christmas Day (Credit: BBC) The murder of Anthony Trueman History repeated itself on Christmas 2025, when Anthony Trueman was killed after confronting Zoe over their twins. Zoe thinks she was responsible for killing Anthony, but it was actually her own daughter – Jasmine Fisher. Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Add as a preferred source on Google Good to Know Share Add as a preferred source on Google By Carena Crawford 5 Feb 2026, 08:02 By Carena Crawford 5 Feb 2026, 08:02 Previous Story Next Story
